Ferry services on the Paturia-Daulatdia route resumed at 10:30am today after five hours of suspension. Shah Mohammad Khaled Newaj, deputy manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) Aricha sector, said ferry services on the Paturia-Daulatdia route were suspended due to poor visibility caused by dense fog. Read more: Ferry services on Daulatdia-Paturia route resume after 6 hours Two ferries were stuck in the middle of the river while around 200 vehicles got stranded on both sides of the river due to the suspension of the ferry services. Meanwhile, ferry services on the Aricha-Kazirhat route remained suspended from 4 am today. Around 300 vehicles, mostly goods-laden trucks were seen waiting on both sides to cross the river.   END/UNB/Corr/KF/KW

Ferry services on  Chandpur -Shariatpur route resumed on Monday morning after eight hours of suspension due to dense fog. “Ferry services were suspended at 12 am on Sunday due to heavy fog considering the safety of the passengers,” Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) ferry ghat manager Faisal Alam said. Read more: Ferry services on Paturia-Daulatdia, Aricha-Kazirhat resume after 11 hours Seven ferries are now operating on Chandpur-Shariatpur-Narsinghpur route.  Due to the suspension of ferry services, small and large vehicles got stranded on both sides of the river.  

Ferry operation from No  5 ferry terminal in Daulatdia has been suspended as it witnessed severe  erosion by the Padma River in Goalanda upazila of Rajbari district. The Bangladesh Inland and Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) aurhorities suspended the ferry operation from the terminal as its 50 meters area went into the gorge of the mighty river on Tuesday. Already, the authorities concerned have thrown GO bags in the area.  Besides, three other ferry terminals in the upazila have been facing erosion threat. Read: Teesta erosion: Over 100 families left homeless in Kurigram, Gaibandha

A fire that broke out at ‘Begum Rokeya’ ferry near Majhirkandi channel while heading towards Majhi Ghat in Shariatpur on Saturday. There were around 50 people and 36 vehicles on the ferry during the fire incident but no causalities were reported. “Damages were prevented through the timely use of fire extinguishing equipment and water pump,” said Shafiqul Islam, Deputy General Manager (DGM) of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority at the Shimulia Ghat.  BIWTC authority has said that the fire originated from a locked room inside the ferry’s canteen. “Nothing serious happened except a little burn on the canteen’s ceiling. The Marine Department of BIWTC has inspected the spot. The ceiling of the canteen will be repaired later. At present, the ferry is being operated on Shimulia-Majhirkandi route,” said Shafiqul. Read: 7 die in Philippine ferry fire; over 120 rescued from water

State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury on Thursday requested the Dhaka-bound passengers to use the Daulatdia route to cross the Padma River  as a small number of ferries are operating at Shimulia. "People have been able to go home smoothly to celebrate Eid. Therefore, the Dhaka-bound passengers are urged to use Daulatdia terminal to return to Dhaka to avoid mad rush," he said while exchanging Eid greetings with reporters at the ministry. Also read: Khalid urges passengers to cross river through Paturia instead of Shimulia Asked if any steps will be taken to increase the number of ferries at Shimulia terminal, the state minister said, "We have repeatedly requested the home-bound people to use Paturia Ghat earlier because limited ferry arrangements have been made for the overall safety of the Padma Bridge.” The law enforcers and others concerned are performing their duties properly to prevent any untoward situation, he added. Also read: Chaos at Paturia ghat as 300 cars wait to cross Padma

Ferry services on Shimulia-Banglabazar route resumed on Monday after over two months of suspension, Medium sized ferries carrying light vehicles will operate on this route during the day time for now, said Ashikuzzaman, Director (commerce) of BIWTC. Currently four ferries are plying on this route while passengers are being carried by 87 launches and 101 speedboats, he said. Also read: Ferry movement suspended on Shimulia-Banglabazar route All the ferries were seen moving with ease under the Padma bridge. On August 18, BIWTC suspended all ferry services on the route for an indefinite period due to strong current in the Padma River. The decision came after at least five ferries hit the Padma Bridge pillars between July and August this year. Also read: Ferry services on Shimulia-Banglabazar route resume after 48 days

Ferry services on Shimulia-Banglabazar route that remained suspended for 48 days resumed Monday morning on trial basis. BIWTC Shimulia ghat assistant general manager Shafiqul Islam said,” Ferry ‘Kunjalata’ left Shimulia ghat for Banglabazar at 11am on Monday. The full resumption of ferry services depends on the success of this first journey.” Read: Ferry movement suspended on Shimulia-Banglabazar route Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation on August 18 suspended all ferry services on the route for an indefinite period due to strong current in the Padma River. The decision came after at least five ferries hit the Padma Bridge bridge pillars between July and August this year. Majhirkandi Ghat of Zajira in Shariatpur was prepared on August 26 as an alternative. But it not possible to operate ferries from this terminal too due to navigability crisis. Read: No ferries to ply Shimulia-Banglabazar route at night   The long suspension of ferry services on Shimulia-Banglabazar route, the gateway to 21 southern districts of Bangladesh, had an adverse impact on trade and commerce of the region. The only mode of communication was small launches or boats which were only available during the day.  

Experimental ferry movement began on Thursday from newly built Madbar-Mongolmajhi terminal at Jajira in Shariatpur to protect Padma bridge from accidents. The construction of the new terminal in Madaripur was completed on Wednesday. To protect the bridge piers from collision with ferries the authority determined Majhirghat-Shimulia as the new route replacing Simulia-Banglabazar route. Executive Engineer of BIWTC Dhaka division Motiur Rahman said movement of passenger and freight ferries on Simulia-Bangla Bazar route will remain suspended until the strong current eases. Read Authority places lighted buoy to protect Padma Bridge from ferries Until then small ferries can move on this route through the river channel to the downstream to avoid hitting the piers of Padma bridge, he said. Assistant Technical Engineer of BIWTA Dhaka division Faisal Hossain said the construction work of the terminal was done promptly to inaugurate officially by August 7. At the moment ambulances, corpse carrying vehicles, and vehicles used for government work will move on the new route carried by small ferries as the adjoining road at Jajira is not wide enough, he said. Read Ferries plying around Padma Bridge to get outer rubber layer A decision will be made later on whether other vehicles will be allowed to move when the road gets widened, said the official. From August 18, ferry movement on Simulia-Bangla Bazar route was suspended after three ferries hit the bridge pier.

With only two days left for Eid ul Azha, homebound people started leaving the capital for home overcrowding Shimulia ferry terminal on Sunday to cross the River Padma ignoring the risk of Covid-19 transmission. Currently, 15 of the 19 ferries and 84 launches, out of 87, are moving on this route. All the ferries are not operating due to strong current in the river while authorities did not allow the operation of three launches for not having their updated documents, said the terminal authorities. Also read: Ferry services only for ambulances, goods-laden vehicles Being unable to control the unusual pressure of vehicles and passengers, authorities brought two more ferries – ‘Kakoli’ and ‘Kolmilata’ from Chandpur to deal with the pressure but the queues of stranded trucks and other vehicles are getting longer and longer.

Two separate bouts of dense fog obstructed ferry services on the Paturia-Daulatdia route for about 9 hours from Sunday night through early Monday. Three ferries loaded with passengers and vehicles compelled to stay put in the middle of the river as dense fog blanketed the river route, causing immense suffering to the passengers.